In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to discuss the ITU’s critical role in increasing access to global digital connectivity. Dan and Doreen first provide an overview of the history of the ITU and outline the specific mandates of the BDT and other bureaus.
 
They go on to discuss the ITU’s targeted work and how the BDT aims to connect the world through six main focus areas: bolstering digital infrastructure, capacity building, digital inclusion, measuring impact, forming key partnerships worldwide, and policy regulation that emboldens an enabling environment. The conversation shifts to a discussion about global modernity as well as the future of digital infrastructure, specifically how both Covid-19 and distance learning have had varying degrees of negative impacts on many schoolchildren, especially those in the developing world.